Alijana Vukšić, director of the Tourist Board of Split, comments on ULTRA, the summer season, and what we can look forward to once the festival is over.
The first six months of this year showed the continued expansion of tourism and a definite increase in the number of registered guests in Split. In June alone, Split recorded an increase of 30 percent compared to last year's figures, and similar growth was recorded in the months before - and you better believe that July will follow this trend, reports Dalmacija Danas on July 14, 2017.
According to the latest information from the Split Tourist Board, over the last week, it has been nearly impossible to find a hotel room in the city, and most accommodation facilities elsewhere are at full occupancy.
“In June, the Tourist Board of Split announced a turnover of 93,045 arrivals and 259,255 overnight stays, which is 33 percent more in arrivals and 30 percent more in overnight stays when compared to the same period last year. These indicators of tourist traffic are the result of many years of hard work by all tourism workers and an indicator that there is a continued trend of growth of tourism in Split,” said Alijana Vukšić, the Split Tourist Board director.
Vukšić further pointed out that last year, Split recorded over 75,000 overnight stays during the 3 days of the ULTRA festival, and she is certain that this year’s figures won’t be too far behind.
“Year after year we make sure the city is ready to accept such a large number of tourists, and for months we have been in cooperation with the City of Split and all departments to make sure that all services are ready for visitors of the ULTRA festival. Our informants support the official info points of the festival and provide all the necessary information to visitors. Our goal is to keep our guests in the destination as long as possible and to help them receive as much information as possible about the cultural and natural attractions of our city. Throughout the year, we inform visitors of the festival and respond to numerous inquiries through our online communication channels so that tourists whose main motive is to come to ULTRA can also meet all of the advantages of Split as a tourist destination,” Vukšić continued.
Vukšić added that most ULTRA visitors are coming to Split from the US, the UK and Australia, but also from non-traditional markets, which opens up new opportunities to promote in these atypical markets.
The festival, which will remain in Split for the next five years, is very good for the city, added Vukšić:
“We still have at least 5 years of the festival left which is confirmation that Split has shown itself as a ready host for great events. The organization includes all services, tourism professionals and local communities, and in the next five years, we will work on additional training and preparation.”
The tourist life in Split, however, continues after ULTRA ends.
“Summer continues with a wonderful combination of entertainment and culture, and every night on our waterfront, visitors can enjoy 3 months of daily concerts within Split Summer Colors which will host 1,600 performers. The program satisfies the tastes of all age groups and interests, so we invite all of our dear and fellow citizens and tourists to choose from concerts within the thematic weekends, numerous Klapa concerts, and performances of cultural art companies that all present the cultural heritage of our city.
Behind us is a large number of interesting events, and soon we will enjoy the rich program prepared by HNK as part of the Split Summer Festival, which opens with the opera "Barber of Seville". We are also preparing for the upcoming Nights of Diocletian, every day at 12 pm at Peristyle we introduce the changing of the Roman guard, and an interesting overture is also the living museum at Cornaro.
I invite all spectators to check out the detailed program of events on our website visitsplit.com, and to enjoy the many events that we have prepared, both for our tourists and our citizens,” concluded Alijana Vukšić, the Split Tourist Board director.
